‘Saddam Hussein opened a cheesecake factory’: Obama mocks Trump’s White House renovations; defends Abdul El-Sayed

Former US President Barack Obama criticised US President Donald Trump and his Republican allies over what he described as cruelty and indecency as he campaigned for Democratic candidates in the key states of Ohio and Michigan.He defended Ohio gubernatorial candidate Dr Amy Acton and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed against attacks from their Republican opponents. United States midterm elections are nationwide votes held every four years at the exact midpoint of a president's term.

Launching a sharp, satirical attack against Trump’s ongoing renovation choices for White House, he said that the US president "got the White House looking like former Iraq President Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory". "I don't know if you've noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovations. He should be on HGTV. The guy’s building a ballroom that’s bigger than the White House. Paved over the Rose Garden, put a helicopter pad on the South Lawn, and there’s gold everywhere! What’s up with the gold? Everything—more gold!” Obama said, while addressing an election campaign in Ohio for the midterms. Taking the jibe further, he drew loud applause and laughter from the crowd, adding: “He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory. Just gold everywhere."

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Obama also mocked US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. "Hundreds of Americans have been wounded. We have run down our stock of missiles, and Iran now has veto power over the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, you’ve got the defense secretary who’s squarely focused on important matters like the jawlines and testosterone levels of our troops," he said.

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Obama condemned critics who, he suggested, were using El-Sayed's name or Muslim faith to attack him. “We have seen this movie before. I starred in it,” Obama told a packed high school gymnasium in Detroit. “I have got a long-form birth certificate to prove it.” He added: “Abdul is as Michigan as it gets.” The former president rejected claims that El-Sayed was a radical, saying, “Abdul shares my values.” He also acknowledged that El-Sayed had criticised him after his 2012 re-election for not fulfilling all his progressive campaign promises.